I have been banned from Mercedes, why-I complained.

[idouglas@sandiw]

As John has said on many an occassion, it is important you have access to a good dealership. I have found it necessary to use my dealership (from whom I purchased my car)regarding a continuing command problem with my car. They have bent over backwards to rectify the problem and have also cleaned the car inside and out whilst it was with them. All has been free of charge and I would recommend them to anybody. As a result I am a "happy bunny" with a mercedes I love. Ian.

 

[calmond]

There must be something missing here .I have worked in main dealerships all my working life and the only thing that would make that dealer show you the door is being rude and abusive ,and rightly so ,What customers sometimes forget is that most dealerships run at a very low profit margin with instant automatic invoices from the supplier for all sorts of gear they neither want or need ,so dont be too suprised if they wont pay for your missed trip to new york just because your car broke down ,but i bet they would spend 4-5 hours diagnosing a problem on your car only to be paid for 1 hour by the manufacturer at the drop of a hat ,only for you to shop the earth for an £100 better deal when you buy your next new car

in my dealership and any that i have known all staff will bend over backwards for a customer who is polite and talks to them like a human being, thats why they are doing the job

sorry to have a rant but I Know Why customers are asked to find a new dealership !

 

[Dieselman]

in my dealership and any that i have known all staff will bend over backwards for a customer who is polite and talks to them like a human being, thats why they are doing the job

How true is that. Being civil goes a long way when dealing with any service organisation, even if you have a disagreement.

If ever I'm really pi**ed off with an event or problem, I always say 'Look, I know it's not your fault but'. That way you don't get the other party's back up and they take on your case.

 

[Tan]

I have been banned by a Mercedes Dealer before now, it seams that they dont like it when you compalin about being overcharged.
They had the attitude of if your car is not in here, then someone elses will be. They assume just becuase you drive a Mercedes that you will pay any bill that comes your way, I believe alot of this comes from the fact that they like to deal with company cars, as the bills just get paid, no questions asked.

 

[television]

I have been banned by a Mercedes Dealer before now, it seams that they dont like it when you compalin about being overcharged.
They had the attitude of if your car is not in here, then someone elses will be. They assume just becuase you drive a Mercedes that you will pay any bill that comes your way, I believe alot of this comes from the fact that they like to deal with company cars, as the bills just get paid, no questions asked.

And I will go with that 100%

 

[crockers]

I have been banned by a Mercedes Dealer before now, it seams that they dont like it when you compalin about being overcharged.
They had the attitude of if your car is not in here, then someone elses will be. They assume just becuase you drive a Mercedes that you will pay any bill that comes your way, I believe alot of this comes from the fact that they like to deal with company cars, as the bills just get paid, no questions asked.

Surely it's not the complaining that gets one banned but perhaps it's how one complains

 

[television]

There must be something missing here .I have worked in main dealerships all my working life and the only thing that would make that dealer show you the door is being rude and abusive ,and rightly so ,What customers sometimes forget is that most dealerships run at a very low profit margin with instant automatic invoices from the supplier for all sorts of gear they neither want or need ,so dont be too suprised if they wont pay for your missed trip to new york just because your car broke down ,but i bet they would spend 4-5 hours diagnosing a problem on your car only to be paid for 1 hour by the manufacturer at the drop of a hat ,only for you to shop the earth for an £100 better deal when you buy your next new car

in my dealership and any that i have known all staff will bend over backwards for a customer who is polite and talks to them like a human being, thats why they are doing the job

sorry to have a rant but I Know Why customers are asked to find a new dealership !

When I was sole UK service for a huge Japanese firm, they sent people over to give training on how to handle these situations. The number 1 rule was that you must remember that the customer is upset as his car has gone wrong, you must humour him and try and explain why something has gone wrong, never argue with him, just point out what has happened and do your best to put it right.
In 55 years of being self employed in the service trade I have only ever banned 2 in all that time, and over 200,000 repairs

 

[calmond]

I have been banned by a Mercedes Dealer before now, it seams that they dont like it when you compalin about being overcharged.
They had the attitude of if your car is not in here, then someone elses will be. They assume just becuase you drive a Mercedes that you will pay any bill that comes your way, I believe alot of this comes from the fact that they like to deal with company cars, as the bills just get paid, no questions asked.

sorry to hear about that tan, a policy that i always use is that a customer Must be given a price prior to any work being carried out and no additional work should be completed without prior approval and an exact price is given ,a day time contact number must always be taken to allow this ,i thought all dealerships would adopt this policy. Main dealers do charge a lot per hour and have to ,to cover very expensive tools and training etc
Im sorry to hear about your poor experience

 

[SEM]

I remember a quote from a BMW dealer on aTV sting saying if the customer is polite they will pay you anything if they are a pain the neck, you'll not get anything.... but i still think it depends if if your 6ft+ and built like a brick outhouse!

What ever happened to the customer is always right... or is that everywhere exept the UK?

 

[crockers]

When I was sole UK service for a huge Japanese firm, they sent people over to give training on how to handle these situations. The number 1 rule was that you must remember that the customer is upset as his car has gone wrong, you must humour him and try and explain why something has gone wrong, never argue with him, just point out what has happened and do your best to put it right.
In 55 years of being self employed in the service trade I have only ever banned 2 in all that time, and over 200,000 repairs

What was it then that made you ban the two that you did ban

 

[calmond]

When I was sole UK service for a huge Japanese firm, they sent people over to give training on how to handle these situations. The number 1 rule was that you must remember that the customer is upset as his car has gone wrong, you must humour him and try and explain why something has gone wrong, never argue with him, just point out what has happened and do your best to put it right.
In 55 years of being self employed in the service trade I have only ever banned 2 in all that time, and over 200,000 repairs

I Bet the 2 would not listen to you and were abusive or rude

 

[Tan]

Surely it's not the complaining that gets one banned but perhaps it's how one complains

Trust me..you should not make assumpions. My complaint was via letter and was eventually upheld by the a senior member of staff of MB.

 

[television]

What was it then that made you ban the two that you did ban

One guy had a Radio that had a broken rack on the wave change selector, I got my older brother to make one on a Sunday, and did the repair, when the guy came to pick it up, I told him that my brother made the piece on Sunday morning, the guy went white saying, "I use that radio to listen to religious broadcast, and I cant have a piece in there made on a Sunday"

I lost it and threw him out, I still cringe when I think about it some 40 years ago

The other one started shouting outside my house at midnight when UPS were a day late with a parcel of parts, in fact they had delivered it to the wrong address

 

[Dieselman]

They are both very funny ditties Malcolm..

we just get ars*oles

 

[crockers]

One guy had a Radio that had a broken rack on the wave change selector, I got my older brother to make one on a Sunday, and did the repair, when the guy came to pick it up, I told him that my brother made the piece on Sunday morning, the guy went white saying, "I use that radio to listen to religious broadcast, and I cant have a piece in there made on a Sunday"

I lost it and threw him out, I still cringe when I think about it some 40 years ago

The other one started shouting outside my house at midnight when UPS were a day late with a parcel of parts, in fact they had delivered it to the wrong address

LOL @ Sunday..... sorry that is hilarious...you should have told him it wasnt Sunday in OZ.... so why doesnt he f*(X off to OZ to listen to it..lol

 

[calmond]

Once Banned a local man who came in twice with rubber cheques after that he used to sit on the wall outside while his wife came in to dealership with cash for parts

Banned a customer cought on cctv stealing a set of wheel trims out of hours off a car on the forcourt ,he then brought his car in a week later for an mot test with the stolen trims on it ,it was a realy clear picture of him with his car in the background ,showed him the recording and we said on ya bike or we phone the plod

 

[Dieselman]

Banned a customer cought on cctv stealing a set of wheel trims out of hours off a car on the forcourt ,he then brought his car in a week later for an mot test with the stolen trims on it ,it was a realy clear picture of him with his car in the background ,showed him the recording and we said on ya bike or we phone the plod

You should have just nicked the trims back...

 

[hawk20]

Back to GARY for a second. Please keep us posted on what you do. Don't get down. Do write to MB at Milton Keynes.

Dealers vary and even the individuals in the dealers vary too , of course. My local dealer in Southampton has been first rate and I cannot praise them highly enough. Mercedes have been making huge efforts to get dealers to improve and I have certainly noticed the difference in this area.

 

[G-A-R-Y]

Back to GARY for a second. Please keep us posted on what you do. Don't get down. Do write to MB at Milton Keynes.

Dealers vary and even the individuals in the dealers vary too , of course. My local dealer in Southampton has been first rate and I cannot praise them highly enough. Mercedes have been making huge efforts to get dealers to improve and I have certainly noticed the difference in this area.

Of course I will. I'll get writing this weekend.

 

[glojo]

My letter is the only correspondence I have made in writing, I called the dealer a few times, my calls were unreturned.

Hi G-A-R-Y,
I always find the detail is in the fine print,
You keep referring to letters, but it would appear you have upset people with your comments and I would understand that as a verbal conversation? Are you honestly saying you have been extremely polite throughout this issue and the dealership has banned you for writing the letters that you have posted on this and other forums?

Surely any business needs customers to survive and banning someone is surely a very last resort?

John